


The Hawthorne Games

by KungThomasDenTrettonde



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 21:03:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6440578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KungThomasDenTrettonde/pseuds/KungThomasDenTrettonde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the capitol, they love everything controversial. So when two boys from District Twelve are reaped into the 74th Hunger Games, and begin to form a relationship, stronger than that of mere friends, how will the capitol react and how will the districts reclaim freedom? Set over the course of the entire series. Sequel: Cold as Ice</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Volunteering

**Author's Note:**

> A slightly older work transferred over from Fanfiction.net which I hope you enjoy!

Today is the day of the reaping. I fear this day every year, for I am forced to leave my mother, my brothers and potentially never see them again. Today is the reaping of the 74th Hunger Games, my last reaping before adulthood, and I am determined to come back from that reaping with a smile on my face.

'You ready Catnip?' I ask Katniss, as we walk towards the justice building. Prim is walking with us. Her fear is evident.  
'As ready as I'll ever be Gale, how many times is your name in?' replies Katniss.  
'64'  
'48 for me.'  
'Prim, just once for you right?'  
'Yeah' Prim says very nervously, 'your brother is the same isn't he'  
It was Jon's first games as well, and I was very strict that he didn't take tessare.  
'Good. Well, I've got to join the boys queue, see you afterwards'

I walk into the line of boys. Looking in front of me, I see roughly 90 other guys. One, maybe two of them will be competing this year, and will most likely die.

I sign in before walking into the crowd amidst those my age. Looking over, I see Katniss. We make brief eye contact before both looking forward.

A tap on the microphone.  
'Welcome, welcome all, to the reaping of District Twelve for the 74th Hunger Games' says the escort, up there in her capitol finest. 'Now, we are going to watch a film, brought to us especially from the Capitol'

I roll my eyes, the film we see every year. I don't look or listen as it plays. It's all propaganda, all complete bullshit.'

'And now' says the escort in her prissy tone. Effie, that's her name, Effie Trinket, for the tributes. The first tribute representing District Twelve is,' a pause' **Peeta Mellark**.'

The bakers son, that boy. I turn to look for him. I know him by sight, as he was in the year below me at school, and we all used to trade him things for the day old cakes and buns. He's a good, handsome lad.

He walks up to the stage. I don't hear the usual sobs from the back. His mother must not be here, or she's being very quiet.

'The second tribute for District Twelve is,' Effie pauses as she unravels the paper strip.

                                                            **'Jon Hawthorne'**

My breath catches in my throat. No, not Jon, his name was only in once. I begin to move through the crowd towards my brother, who is being sheparded out. Standing in the gap between the boys and girls, I run to my brother.  
'Gale you can't'  
'Jon, I made a promise'

Standing up, I move in front of Jon, and loudly say: **'I am Gale Hawthorne, and I volunteer as tribute'**


	2. The Train

I walk up slowly to the stage, my head held high. Even though I'm scared to hell, I can't let it show. I've done the right thing. I walk up to Effie, shake hands with Peeta. Everything is a blur after that. Meeting my family, I promised them that if I went down, I'd take at least half the bastards with me, and that Katniss will help them with food.

Katniss came in to see me, she promised to help my mother and brothers. Taking her hand, my last words are 'I will come back; you haven't seen the last of me'

Then I'm on the train, sat with Peeta and Effie, watching the reapings. Finally the district four reaping is on. A burly looking chap, Reef, volunteers as does a tough looking girl, Marina.

'So who do you think will last the longest' Peeta asks me  
'The boy from four, Reef and the girl from two, Clove'  
'I'd put one more up there, a boy called Gale Hawthorne'

The door opens before I can reply, and a drunken Haymitch Abernathy staggers into the room.  
'So Haymitch, when do we start.'  
'Wow kid, so eager, most of you don't give a shit' Haymitch stammers, reaching for the whiskey.  
'We start **tomorrow** Haymitch.' I say, my tone final.  
'Whoa kid, I-'  
'You have today to sober up, tomorrow I want to see you telling us how to survive in that shitstorm they call the Games.'

Haymitch shrugs, taking two bottles of port and promptly walking from the room.  
'I'm going to get some sleep, I'll need energy to get him to bother to train us.' I say, picking up a glass of some lilac juice and walking from the room.

~~~

I wake up. Sunlight bursts through the train window. Getting up, I take a look out the window. I can see a district wall, with a large number emblazoned on it: 8. Pulling on some fresh, non garish clothes (of which there are few), I exit my room, and walk towards the dining car. I hear noises coming from the door to Peeta's room. I knock.

'Peeta, you okay?'  
'Yeah, sure just gimme a minute'  
'I'll wait; we both need to convince Haymitch to train us.'  
Peeta opens the door, wearing an eye-catching pale blue shirt and black trousers. 'Let's go see Haymitch then'

We walk into the room, and looking around I see Haymitch, watching the feed from the Capitol of the arrival of districts 6, 7 and 8. He has a glass of whiskey in his hand.'

'No training today boys, this is already my third glass'  
'Haymitch we need to-' Peeta begins to say  
'Haymitch Abernathy, please put down the fucking whiskey and tell us what the hell we have to do to survive this bullshit!'

Both Haymitch and Peeta are speechless. 'Well, I sure as hell want to go home' I say.  
'Kid, Gale, whatever your name is, you want to know how to survive? You make friends. Surprised? You make friends, and you get people to like you. And son, right now you aren't making a great start.'

The train suddenly darkens, we've entered a tunnel. All of a sudden we are out, and I see it. The Capitol. I never thought that such a place would make me so sick. We fly by the waterfalls of Snow, before entering the city itself. It stands like diamond spikes against a golden sky. The forest's surrounding it are luscious and basked in golden light.

The train station, Peeta stands at the window, waving to the crowd.  
'Gale, come on'  
Biting my lip, I stand up and move to the window, flashing the capitol citizens a smile which hides all my anger at their pointless extravagance. 

We are hurried out the training centre into temporary accommodation ready for the parade tonight. Looking out the window. The forests, how I wish to be there.  
'Gale, come eat something' Effie says.  
'I'm going to bed.'  
'Gale' I turn, its Peeta, 'Goodnight'  
'Goodnight Peeta' I walk into my room, and I collapse on the bed. Peeta Mellark, that guy. I don't think I could kill him, nor watch him die. It's sad that he's in these Games at all. The final thought I think before sleep startles me, _I could protect him_.


	3. The Parade

'I saw what you did, for your brother, and I think you were very brave.'  
I'm sitting in a room, pale grey like every room in the Capitol, well those that aren't freakishly outlandish colours. I sit with a man, very unlike the Capitol. Basically, he looks normal, though you can see some Capitol flair in him. He is to be my stylist.  
'The name's Cinna, and while it's probably not what you want to hear, I'm sorry this has happened to you.'  
'All people do is congratulate me. This whole place is sick.' I mumble in reply.  
'Why congratulate you. Anyway, I'm here to make you look hot, so the capital fall in love with you.'  
Cinna begins to walk around me, analysing me.  
'You have an attitude, I can see that. You remind me of a tribute, Johanna Mason, so I think we will interpret her badass style. I'm seeing shorter hair, darker to contrast more with your skin, with a more copper tone, to reflect your mining district. Now onto the outfit for the parade...'  
Cinna mumbles to himself over ideas, before writing a note and dashing from the room to see someone called Portia. A style team come in, and begin covering me and my hair in creams and solutions.

After what seems like _hours_ I finally get to look in the mirror. Whatever they put on me has certainly made me look different. My skin has become more ashen, my hair dark with small streaks of red in there. Cinna re-enters the room.  
'I've spoken to Portia, we have our plan. You are dismissed, and I will see you in two hours'  
'Thanks Cinna' I say. I might as well, he's the most normal person I've met so far, and he doesn't seem to bad.

I meet Peeta back in the temporary accommodation.  
'Wow, Gale, you look, different. It's a good different, but... wow...'  
'You look great Peeta'  
His hair has been low lighted, darkened in tone. Other than that he looks like his handsome self.  
'Hey Peeta, would you like to, maybe grab a drink with me' I ask tentatively.  
Peeta smiles, 'Sure. I don't know where we can go though, they don't really let us out'  
'Well, we could meet after the parade, there has got to be some drink in the tribute accommodation.'  
'Sure. Do you know what we are wearing for the parade yet?'  
'No clue, but knowing the capitol, it's probably we're going to look pretty bent.'

'Fire?' I ask.  
'Not real fire, but it'll pack one hell of a punch.' Cinna replies.  
'How is this related to 12?'  
'You mine. Coal is the big export, and what does coal do?'  
'Burn'

I take my place on the chariot by Peeta. We are both in, rather tight, suits made of some leather-like material but shinier. They are also smell rather odd.  
'That's the fluid. You're last, so give them hell'  
Effie and Haymitch walk over as we are about to go.  
'Show them you mean business, and that you will have each other's backs no matter what' Haymitch tells us before waving us off.

'What did he mean by that?' Peeta asks me.  
'Don't you know? I'll explain after the parad- holy SHIT!'  
'Our suits just ignited and the horses bolted out the door.'

Bright lights. Screams. Shouts. Fire. President Snow. Fire. Sounds. Fire. Peeta. I turn, he's all I can see. We make eye contact, and I now know what to do. We grab each other's hands and raise them up. Waving, smiling, catching the kisses of the Capitol dogs.

The crowd clearly love it. They LOVE IT! It's exhilarating. I hear the presenters screaming our praise and our audacity. We steal the show.  
I turn my eyes to those before me. Two girls from district 11. One is rather small, dark haried. The other it tall, dark haired and muscular. Shit.

Before I know it, I'm in the training compound. Snow gave us some crappy speech. I survey those around me, estimating odds. Reef, god damn he could snap a man's neck at eighty paces. Marina holds a trident, and could spear a man at 80 thousand. The boy from two is pretty gangly and weak. The girl however is tall, muscular and square jawed.

I sit with Peeta in our living room. It's dark and it's been the longest day since I've been in the mine. We each hold a bottle of some alcohol, called 'Beach Crisp'.

'Sorry the alcohol is shit'  
'It's fine' Peeta replies, 'I'm enjoying myself. Those tributes, how on earth are we supposed to kill them. The boy from four, his arm is the size of my head'  
'He seems cocky. With luck, the bloodbath will wipe him out.'  
'God'  
'What?' I ask.  
'We are sitting here plotting how to kill people. The Parade, Fire, Cinna, Portia, The Capitol is a crazy place'  
'Haha yeah. I'm going to finish this bottle, then hit the stack. I need to practice killing people tomorrow. Not your everyday sentence is it.'  
'Goodnight Gale, I... I had fun and.. I'd love to do  this again.'  
Looking at Peeta, I know exactly what he is thinking. 'So do I. Night Peeta.'  
I say to myself _'FUCK the Capitol. Finally my chance with a hot guy and one of us is probably going to die, if not both.'_  
Semi-angry, semi-flustered, I head to bed.


	4. Training

Breakfast. Peeta tiredly lollops into the room. I throw a croissant at him.  
'Big day today, we gotta watch people who will kill us beat dummys and throw knifes at things.'  
'Always the optimist aren't you Gale?'  
'Defiantly. Just hand me a knife, bow or spear and watch me make a huge fool of myself.'  
'No Sword'  
'Hell no, I'd seem weak, and the Johanna Mason Game aint my long game plan.'  
'Just outshine me and people will forget I'm there. Who knows I may be able to get out the bloodbath.'  
'You will get out the bloodbath, because your going to turn and run for water.' Haymitch preaches, entering the room.  
'Now grave dodgers, I have some news. Your training. DO NOT SHOW YOUR SKILLS. I don't care if you can throw a knife 100 metres with pin point accuracy. You wait for the 1 on 1 with the gamemakers.'

Effie came waltzing in at that moment. 'Haymitch, a word.'  
'Not know'  
'Haymitch. Now.'  
'See you after training boys, and remember what I said.

**_The Training Centre_ **

THUNK! I see Peeta standing there, open mouthed.

It's the two girls from 11. One must be that age, but she's moving in a way I've never seen. Fast, and with that, she's clambered onto the decking above us. I think I'm the only one who then notices her slip a knife off of a trainer and imbed it in the opposite wall, 60 feet away with a single throw.

The other girl stands tall. She has a manly face, but wields a huge scythe. She cuts through Dummy after dummy in seconds, leaving shreds behind.

The Two from four are throwing knives together, and the girl from 8 hasn't even shown up.

Me and Peeta separate ourselves from the other groups and spend a more pleasant hour trying to forget the doom that surrounds us, as I teach Peeta how to make a fire and he teaches me the basics of finding water.

Surprising I know, but I always took a bottle with me hunting.

**_Meanwhile in the Tribute Apartments_ **

'Haymitch, just listen I don't care about how I took the vodka from your room just listen.'  
'No, Effie that wa...'  
'Haymitch I have an Idea. You know how we in the capitol love controversial things.'  
'Effie, what _are_ you suggesting?'  
She grins, and says one word, her blue stained lips in a smile 'Love'

**_Back in the Training centre_ **

Peeta lands a good hit on my shoulder. We are circling each other, in a small alcove in the side of the centre, away from other people. Some monitored exercises, which took a lot of convincing so that the guard would let us both in at once. Both of us hold small batons, and we are both hot and sweaty.

With a swing, I hit the collar of Peeta's shirt. It's so drenched it rips, slightly, exposing a rather toned torso.  
'Peeta, please just stop being so hot, It'll make hitting your skinny as to the ground that much harder'  
With that we clash batons several times.  
'CHANGE' yells the monitor.

We swap our batons for sword lookalikes, and some body armour. I take the sword and stand ready. Peeta laughs.  
'Gale, try not to hold the sword like a girl, you're so feminine I may just date you'

We clash swords, metal on metal clash sounds echo in the small room.

After a few minutes the monitor yells 'END OF SIMULATION' and we both take off our armour. As Peeta removes his chest piece, I get a glimpse of the muscles under his shirt.

'You couldn't date me if you tried.'  
'Oh really Gale' and with that he kisses me.

Even though we are in a near isolated room with only one person who can see, I begin to get self conscious all of a sudden. Bad memories surge and I break apart from him. He looks at me confused, but I just give him a look, and he understands completely.

And thus the first day of training was over.


	5. Assessment

So that training stuff is pretty fun right. The past couple of days have given me some time to really look at the other tributes. The two from 11 seem to be the greatest challenge, and to make matters worse they're working together. The two from 4, damn they can pack a punch. But I think I'm the only one who noticed a girl from 10 nearly kill a guy. If I had to guess I'd say she's playing a game.

Only one other tribute has caught my eye. Well I say he has, more like his _fine_ ass has.

But the training is almost over. We'll be en-route to the arena this time tomorrow. This afternoon is the final assessment, so I guess I should enjoy this morning as much as possible.

The Capitol has given us one hour to call people per day. I spent most of it on the phone to my mother, but I managed to catch Katniss.

"How's the Capitol?" she asks.  
"Extravagant, Decadent, you name it, it describes it." I reply,  
"Gale, you're in the arena tomorrow. You've got to come back."  
"It's not that simple. I've seen so many things here you wouldn't believe. A girl who's bicep is the size of my head, an eleven-year-old who can throw knives better than that past winner, Cecilia can. Not to mention the girl from four, who can chop a guy's head off in a single swing."  
"Yeah Gale but you're smart. Plus, you've got Peeta, I bet if you ask him he will back you up."  
"Katniss, twenty-four people enter that. At best two leave, and that's only happened once or twice before."  
"Gale, trust him. He'll be there when you need him."

A sounder bleeps, and my hour is nearly up.  
"That's my cue. I need to go Katniss."  
"Wave to me when you're in there will ya?"  
"Sure."  
I sign off, and get up off the bed. The assessment begins in an hour, and I don't want to be late.

~~~

I stand up, and with one last look at Peeta, advance into the training room one last time.  All the other tributes have gone. As I walk through the great I see two trainers trying to yank a knife from a wall. Shrugging I walk forward.

"Gale Hawthorne. District 12."

A game maker nods and I walk to a spear. I feel it, weigh it in my hand. Then in one move I turn and imbed the spear into a dummy on the far side of the room in a single throw.

"12, if you wouldn't mind not using those." some shrill voice says from the viewing box.  
That confuses me, but for whatever reason, I move over to the bow station.   
"I do have a name you know." I retort, picking up the bow and, in my frustration, missing my first shot.

Laughter ensues. I take a long and slow breath. I feel the bow in my hand, a cool metal, like those in the mines back home. The arrows, long, perfectly weighted. I attach the arrow and let fly. It flies. Bull's-eye. I take another, and hit each of the targets right in the centre.

The game-makers aren't even looking. One of the four up there is eyeing up some lady in a ridiculously flamboyant maids outfit and the other three are eating some pastry crap.

 _"Are you kidding me"_ I say under my breath. Taking the last arrow, I notch and fire. The arrow sails. A perfect arc through the air. It knocks the wig of the elderly lady in the box. It nails to the wall.

Silence.

~~~

"Peeta Mellark. District 12."

The game-makers look at me with rapt attention. What did Gale do this time?

I look around and the first thing I see is an instructor standing by the swords. I crack my knuckles and walk towards him. His face remains blank as I pick up a blade whirl it through the air.

I swing. Dodge. Swing again. Dodge. Swing. He falls to the ground. That's when the lights went out.

~~~

"Effie the whole centre went down this isn't the time to be talking about a fake romance. You can't be serious Effie!"  
"Haymitch if you haven't noticed you're as blind as that victor from 9 with no eyes. They're totally enamoured."  
"The point here is the centre's power went down. That can be discussed later, what happens if they move while they're in the arena?"  
"Haymitch stop it. Remember where we are. We can talk later but right now, the only thing that matters is the games this second and pulling them both through. Once they're clear we can talk about other things."  
"You feel like risking this whole operation on two boys who mean nothing in the grand scheme of things!"  
"I don't feel like anything, it's just I want no more innocent lives lost. Once they are, well, dead, we can make contact."

~~~

"Maisie from District 11, with a score of 10. Rue from District 11 with a score of 9."

It's time. The scores.

"District 12. Peeta Mellark, with 8."

"Well done dude, great work." Gale pats me on the back. I smile, and feeling his touch, bubble up inside."

"Gale Hawthorne, with a score of, 11."

Ceaser flickers of the screen and some propaganda starts playing. I don't notice this however, having launched myself on Gale amidst the cheers from Cinna, Portia, Effie and Haymitch.

Our lips meet before I know what's happening, and everything goes quiet again. Gale and I however stay as we are. Only breaking it off as Effie says, "I told you Haymitch


	6. The Cornucopia

"BEEP BEEP" the alarm clock buzzes. My eyes open, the evening sunset shining through the windows of the training centre.

We've been allowed a few hours of sleep after the announcement of the training scores. We're to leave for the arena an hour after sunset. What happens then, I don't know.

A knock, and rising slowly from amidst the sea of blankets, I see a tired looking Gale enter the room.  
"You look fantastic. I'm loving the sleepy look." I mutter to him.  
He doesn't even laugh, he just sits next to me and pulls me in close to his chest. I can smell him, the musk of his natural scent, barely covered by some horrific smelling cologne.

Everyone last night, hadn't really said anything after the kiss. Well, Effie started cheering, Haymitch looked stunned and Cinna and Portia looked shocked. They still stayed rather silent though, and only spoke again to talk of the other tributes and their training scores. We'd then been bidden to go to bed to get some rest before the trip.

"Gale" I whisper into his chest. All he does is hold me tighter. "Gale" I whisper again.

"I can't breathe." I say, and pulling back, my nose full of synthetic Pine scents I cough. He laughs and tells me we're leaving in a few minutes, but not to bother as we'll be spending the morning in the training centre.

"Don't go" I plead as he heads for the door. "Stay, with me."  
He still doesn't say anything, but comes and lies next to me. We stay that way for a few minutes until there's a knocking at the door. Haymitch's voice bellows through the door. "Boys, its time."

Looking at each other, we get up and head to the door.

~~~

"Give me you're arm."  
I look up to see a woman, a capitol medic it seems, holding a metallic syringe. Giving her my arm she sticks it in, presses a button on the syringe. She then extracts the device and moves to the girl next to me.

"What is it?" I hear the girl ask.  
"You're tracker, so we don't lose you in the arena." The sound of syringe into flesh follows and a click of the device.

Peeta was put on the other airship. I don't know where I am but I can feel the turbulence of the air around the hovercraft as we glide against the wind. We've been in the air for say, an hour or two. The woman has reached the end of the line of tributes and reaches for a microphone.

"Touchdown in 10 minutes." She says before disappearing through a door.

10 minutes couldn't come fast enough. At this rate, boredom will kill me before I get into the arena.

~~~

Having touched down, the other tributes and I were escorted into rooms. A meal was placed on the table next to the bed and the door was locked at the workers left. The only thing for me to do was eat the meal and lie down, wondering all the time how Gale was feeling and where he was.

Haymitch and Portia came through the door. Portia began setting out clothing for later on. Haymitch just sat on the chair and started giving me advice.  
"So don't go into the centre for stuff?" I ask.  
"No. You won't make it out. Just get some things from the outside then leg it. Remember, find water and a safe place to sleep."  
"Okay. Have you seen Gale?"  
"No, I'm going in to see him next."  
"Can I see him." I ask, hopeful.  
Haymitch sighs. "I'll see what I can do."

He leaves the room for a moment. I make brief conversation with Portia, asking her about what was being put out. She informs me that based upon the material and weight, it would be a mostly temperate setting, most likely forest or grassland.

Haymitch re-enters.  
"Portia, you're wanted at the hovercraft for the journey back in 10. Peeta, come with me."  
I follow him from the room. Portia bids me goodbye as I do so and continues fixing up my outfit. A peacekeeper waits outside and escorts me through the corridor with Haymitch.

Nearing a room with a 12 marked on the door, I see another tribute walking through the corridor. Her escort stands behind her. I recognise her face and her blonde hair, the girl from 7. Well one of them. She watches me as I walk through the corridor with interest, and before entering a door, she winks at me. Confused, I stop for a moment. It's then that the peacekeeper pushes me forward, and I continue on.

~~~

"Peeta!" I gasp as he appears in my doorway, grinning.  
"Gale!" He moves to me and we embrace. Haymitch grunts and looking up, I see the peacekeeper covering his eyes.

"You're not allowed privacy. You're only allowed in here to say Goodbye, in case you don't get a moment in the arena."

"Oh." Peeta looks crestfallen. Looking into my eyes, he murmurs "Goodbye Gale."   
I tap him on the forehead. "We're not saying goodbye. I'll see you in there."  
Peeta grins at me, "all the same" he says, before our lips meet.

~~~

Small space is my first thought. I'm in the tube. The door lies open and the Peacekeeper stands neutrally at its opening. The tube closes and I'm pulled into the sunlight.

Air. Fresh Air. Looking around I see the clock already counting down. I scan the tributes standing at their pedestals. Gale must be on the other side of the centre, the cornucopia of weaponry, food and supplies.

45

Backpacks of supplies. Loaves of Bread. A sleeping bag. All are scattered relatively close to me.

30

Scanning the tributes again, I see a girl from 11. The girl from 7 is also there, though not standing. She's kneeling in prayer.

10

The sound clearly wakes her and she bounds to her feet. Eyes surveying the ground around her. I turn to the supplies, and plot a route in my head.

5

I get ready to move.

4

I pace my breath as I tense my muscles.

3

I enter a starting position for sprinting.

2

I blink and block out all sounds.

1

I take the first step.

0

Sprinting. One bag in my grasp. A loaf of bread. I grab it too. A clash of blades. I run for the sleeping bag. Tripping. Sliding through the grass. Face into the earth.

Looking up I see a boy. No idea where he's from, but he holds an axe in his hands. He raises it above his head.

\----

I can see Peeta, on the ground. I try to run towards him, but the backpacks are slowing me. Dodging the swords and axes of fighting tributes I close in on the boy above him. He raises his axe. I'm not going to make it.

\----

Blades everywhere. I nimbly dodge. It's the girl from 4, swinging a broadsword. Sidestepping her heaving swing, I kick out at her stomach. She keels over and, using the knife in my hand, I slash upwards. She falls to the ground, blood seeping from the wound on her throat. Looking around, ignoring the horror of my first kill, I see the two boys.

One lies on the ground, the other runs towards him. The boy stands between them, I don't even remember his name. He raises an axe and I raise my knife. Before he can swing the axe down, my dagger, thrown from a distance, lands squarely in his forehead.

Turning, I see a boy running at me. The boy from four. He swings and I duck, at the same time kicking his ankle. In his surprise I seize the sword from his grasp and stick him with the pointy end in the chest. I then grab their supplies and make a run away from the scene.

~~~

I hear Gale's yells as he runs toward me, but I sink further and further into the darkness.

~~~

Blood is everywhere, and a boy lies dead at my feet, a knife lodged in his forehead. I didn't do this. Turning, I see the calamity unfolding around me. No one is paying Peeta any attention. In the distance I see dead bodies. The two from four, and a girl running through the

Panic. Peeta is lying, a large bruise on his forehead, unconscious. The girl is all of a sudden heading towards me. Raising the weapon in my hands she yells towards me.  
"You, have to run. With him, you are target!" her voice is thick with an accent.

An arrow whistles past my ear and she rolls, dodging the incoming shot.  
"If you want to help him, get her off me."

She begins routing in a capitol pouch at her belt, and pulls out a pot. Another arrow, which this time is perfectly on course. A log lies on the ground. I pick it up and the arrow lodges into it. I see the shooter, the young girl from 11.

"Get her. I will help him!" She yells. Deciding to take her advice I make a run at the girl. She advances on me, still firing. Dodging her shots I close in. Suddenly she is surrounded by people. The Careers. They've rallied around her and begin to encircle me. Turning, keeping an eye on them all I take a defensive stance. I see the girl pull Peeta into a fireman's lift. She motions at me to run before heading for the trees.

Raising the pike in my hands, I lunge forward at one tribute. They back off and I charge straight through the ring. They give chase, forcing me to change direction, opposite to where Peeta went. Entering the treeline I launch myself at a tree and climb. Now on the branches I began to run, back in my natural habitat, through the trees.

And despite my need to, I don't look back.


	7. Running

It's been nearly a day since Kati rescued me. I was still unconscious for most of the night, so I missed the canons of the first day. I woke to the sunlight, lying on the large branch of a tree. How she got me up here I don't know, but she stood guard all last night. We then spent this morning heading further away from the centre of the arena, all the while I've been asking her questions.

Her name is Kati, and she's from District 7, lumber I think. Her thick accent hailed from a Hungarian ancestry, as her family had emigrated from whatever remains of Europe to Panem. Evidently they weren't too bad off, as her family had spared no expense when it came to training her. Not to fight, but to work in the lumber business. The training hadn't gone amiss, as she had also been taken as an apprentice Peacekeeper. When I ask more about her, she changes the conversation pretty hastily.

I'd figured I better get to know her. She had endangered herself trying to get me away from the cornucopia, and then used what medicine she had gathered to reduce my fever. Apparently the grass in the centre of the arena wasn't actually grass.

I had already asked her the question bearing on my mind most. Where was Gale. She had said he hadn't seen his face in the fanfare last night, and that last she saw, he had disappeared into the trees on the other side of the centre glade, pursued by the careers.

"So how many did die yesterday?" I ask, as we clamber across a river, using the rocks as stepping stones.  
"Tizegeny" she says, and realising my confusion, raises both hands, all fingers outstrectched once then one finger after.  
"Eleven" I guess. She nods.  
"That is the word. You're friend is fine, the last name on the list was of District 10."  
"So, both from 4, one from 3, both from 6, one from 5, both from 8, one from 9, both from 10 and..." I falter, realising the seventh was the other tribute from her district.  
"Come. No more questions. We have much ground to make in little time." She beckons, having reached the other side of the river. I make the final jump and land on the soft mud of the river bank. Following her fast paces, I move off into the trees with her.

~~~

The pursuing group of Careers gave up once the sun disappeared behind the distant hills. I maintained pace for another few hundred metres, then slowed. Catching my breath, I took a look at my surroundings.

A few metres before me, the forest suddenly ended, giving way to a deep gorge with a river flowing thick and fast buried at its base.  Across the gorge lies the begginings of jungle, and the incline of a hill. Behind me is dense forest.

The water in the gorge catches my eye. I've had nothing to drink for the last 3 hours, and I feel the full water bottle I found in my pack has grown distinctly lighter than it was. Looking down towards the river, I see a ridge not to far below it a ledge, with what looks like the entrance to a cave.

I fasten my rope to a sturdy looking stump. This is my best chance, so taking a few steps back, I run and leap. I catch the edge of the ridge with one hand. The other slips. Stones tumble. Splashes far below me. Clinging to the ledge tightly, I traverse to a safer position and begin to descend down the gorge.

A brief fall and I'm on the ledge. From here, I can see a safe path down to the river on the other side. Drinking the last of my water from the bottle, I fasten the rope into a crack in an outcrop above me, then walk to and enter the cave. It's small, but there's space enough. There's even a sheet of bark I can use to cover the door to stop light escaping.

Collecting some small stones I begin making a firepit. Heading back out of the cave, I test the ropes capabilities. It should hold me, so I climb back up to the surface. Collecting bits of wood and dead leaves, I return to the cave. A few minutes later, a serviceable firepit adorns the centre of the cave.

I check my pack, finding some meat skewers, matches, some bread slices and the bare components of a medical kit. I take and eat a meat skewer, before leaving the cave to make the descent to the river.

It was surprisingly easy, and with a full water bottle, I begin the climb back up to the cave to get some needed sleep.

~~~

The extravagance of the capitol is truly sickening. I stand with Effie in a room full of Games sponsors, sipping expensive champagne while on screen, two tributes from outlying districts are trying to kill each other with horrifically ineffective weapons. One gets the upper hand, and with the stick she had been fighting with, smacks the other tribute boy in the back of the head. He crumples and she swings down with the stick once again on his neck.

Even by a loud river, you can hear the sound of bones breaking, and a canon.

Sighing, I move over to a sponsor. She's standing on her own, watching the girl loot the dead boy's body with a look of interest on her face.  
"Viscountess Dulce?" I ask, tentatively.  
She turns to me, and smiles. Instantly I see that her teeth aren't hers at all, but silver models of teeth instead. Well, she clearly has money.  
"Haymitch Abernathy, District 12 mentor, winner of the 50th Games. Can I have a moment of you're time?"  
"Why certainly darling." she preens, filling up her flute with more champagne.  
"Very good. You see, normally I don't do this sort of thing. Typical tributes from twelve are, well, I'm sure you've seen the last 20 something games. But the boys this year are honestly victors in the making."  
"Oh. You're asking me to sponsor them?"  
"Yes Viscountess, I am."  
"I guess I could. Always like a bit of a gamble. But I want something in return."  
"Oh. What do you want."  
She leans close to me. "Can you get me a 'meeting' with Finnick Odair?"

~~~

Night closes over the last light of the second day. The boy has been following me all day. He's stumbled a bit, but he's kept good pace.

But the signs are all wrong. In the last of the light, the sheen of the shield would suggest we are heading not to the edge, but away from it. That's just not it though, I've had the sensation of being watched for the last few hours. Twigs snapping when all is previously quiet, and the scene is absent of animals.

"Peeta, silence for a moment." I say, holding my hand up.

A twig snaps.

He stays still, clearly aware of the sensation that plagues me, and has done since sunset began. Raising a knife I turn to face the way we came.

Figures move amidst the trees.

Taking careful aim, I line up a shot.

Snickering from all around.

I throw the knife. The snickering stops, a scream follows. A canon blares out and all around me, figures emerge from the trees. At least 4 of them, if not 5. The two from 11 are here, as are the remaining tribute from 9. A Career even joins them, one from 2.

They  begin to encircle us, swinging weapons. A scythe, a bow, two swords and a weak wooden spear. Reaching to my belt, I pull out the sharp metallic dart and the length of wire. In my other hand, I hold my last dagger.

"Peeta, Duck."

He does as I say, and all hell breaks loose.

~~~

I must have slept longer than I thought. I awake to the sound of the birds singing their evening song. The fire is dead, and I can feel my creeping hunger crawling back to me. My water bottle also must have fallen over during the night. It's contents lie on the cave floor.

Sighing, I pick it up. I pull the bark back from the opening.

A girl stands at the top of the gorge. Seeing the movement of bark she looks down. Moving back as quietly and as quickly as I can, I hold my breath. Taking a peek round the corner, I pull back as an arrow shot fires through the doorway.

A shrill voice follows it. "I found one. Let's kill him!"


	8. Combat

~~~  **Peeta** ~~~

It's with shock and awe that I watch as the boy from 9 runs towards Kati. Standing, calm, she lunges out. Only now do I realise the length of wire she's holding is attached to the dart.

The dart flies out towards the tribute. Twisting and flicking her wrist, Kati forces the dart to curve at the last minute around the boy's throat. The dart circles round his neck a couple of times before imbedding into his neck, fastening in place.

The boy stumbles in his approach, the pain of the dart flicking through him. Kati uses this to her advantage, pulling at the wire. He comes careening towards her and she catches him. Using the knife in her other hand she stabs him, imbedding the blade into his neck. She then removes the knife and dark in quick succession and pulling the wire, the boy unravels and rolls away from her.

A canon sounds.

The small girl from 11 raises the bow. Without a moment's hesitation Kati lunges the dart forward. It wraps around the shaft of the bow and she pulls it out the girls hand. The other girl from 11, the one with the mannish face, begins to run forward towards Kati.

I try reaching the bow. It's just out of my reach.

Kati in the meanwhile is dodging slashes from her scythe. Sliding expertley out of the path of a swing, she kicks the girl in the stomach before dropping to the ground to avoid another slash. She imbeds the knife into the leg of the girl.

The career just stands and watches as the two girls brawl. The other girl from eleven is hurridly searching for another weapon.

A smacking sound causes me to look up. The girl has punched Kati round the face. Pulling the dagger from her thigh, she raises it to slash downwards.

~~~  **Gale** ~~~

Another arrow shot. Then another. _'Great'_ I think, ' _Two bows.'_

I can hear voices, around 3. My first thought is the careers. Down here I have no advantage or way to fight back. My only weapon is a pike and a small knife.  
"I'll go get him myself." I hear the only male voice of the three say.  
I hear the sound of heaving and rope friction. A yell. A crash.  
' _Clearly too heavy for the rope. He must have fallen.'  
_ "Argent!" An alerted scream. It confirms my thought, both that they're career's because who else has a name like that, and that he fell.

Silence. Then grunting sounds. He must be climbing back up the rock face. Footsteps, meaning he's up on the ledge. Panic courses through me, but It's this or die. Holding up my pike and wait till the footsteps are as close as I feel I can let them be. Then I turn.

Slamming the wooden end of the pike into his chest takes a great deal of effort. He's fairly bulky. Still it does the trick, and he stumbles backwards, off of the ledge.

Another scream, and a sickening crunching sound. The shock of what I've done, and the guilt of it...

A canon.

' _Well great, I've become like them'_...

~~~  **Kati** ~~~

Adrenaline covers the pain. I wait as she begins to swing my dagger. Reaching up I catch her arm. Kicking her shins, I take the knife from her surprised hands. Another kick to the stomach sends her sprawling backwards.

She recovers faster than I anticipate however, turning the fall into a roll.

The other girl from 11 yells at her. "Maize, get back!"  
The career must agree, because she pulls her coat open, revealing a selection of knives. She selects one and throws.

Peeta launches into me and knocks me to the ground. The knife whistles into the air. The career picks up both her swords before retreating along with the two from 11.

Looking at Peeta, I can see the fear in his eyes. He's doing an admirable job to hide it.  
"Peeta, we need to go. Now." I say. He nods back at me, before picking up the bow. "Shame there weren't any arrows." I say. Tapping him on the back, I motion in the direction we need to go. He nods again, and we set off.

~~~  **Gale** ~~~

The two careers are clearly a tad angry.  
' _Nothing on how I feel I bet.'  
_ I still feel guilty. He may have been trying to kill me, and It may have been my purpose to kill  him but It just doesn't feel right. I took his life. His family will look upon me in these games and despise me, as will his friends. I took someone from them.

The girls outside are now arguing.  
"What do you suggest we do Vair?" I hear one ask.  
"Camp out, and wait for him to emerge. He won' have much food or water, if any." Vair replies.  
"I'll go get wood for a fire then."  
"Don't stray too far Ifri, Shala will wonder where you've gone when she comes back from hunting the 7 girl."

I hear some rustling, one of the girls moving away perhaps. Then the other shouts. " You hear me in there. I am going to GUT you, you monster."

Well isn't she charming.


	9. Twilight Sky

~~~  **Kati** ~~~

The forest is thick. Trees surround us every step we take and we're only going deeper into the forest. It's late evening and the parade of the dead will begin soon.

"How many canons did you hear today?" I ask Peeta.

We've been pretty much silent for the last few hours. We need to make good pace so we can't waste energy. The edge of the arena is drawing closer, and I still feel that they follow us.

A few moments, filled only by the sounds of the terrain as we traverse it pass, before Peeta replies.  
"Eleven died at the cornucopia. After that were two death free days,  then there was this morning, where I think there were two canons." He pauses, before finishing his sentence, "If Gale is still alive then that's 14 out of 24 dead, with three of us. So there are still seven people around."

I nod, running the numbers through my head. "Sounds right, I think. There we're three with us, so there must be another four out there."  
"Or another five." Peeta replies in a dejected tone.  
"Peeta, do you think he is alive?" I ask.  
"What, of course. He can't have died!" Peeta retorts, his tone now very much defensive.  
"Then he's okay." I say simply, before taking a running jump and grabbing the trunk of a nearby tree. I scale it, and look around at our surroundings."Night is close to here. I see a gorge in the distance, we can camp near there. It's close."

Dropping down, I smile at Peeta before setting off in the direction of the scar in the earth that is the gorge.

~~~  **Gale** ~~~

It didn't take long for the other girl to return. Then a third joined them.

It's cold in the cave, and there's no firewood. I can see my breath and here the crackling of the fire upon the ledge of the gorge.

I don't think I'll survive down  here like this.

There are no sounds of movement. They could be asleep. The twilight outside gives enough light for clear sight, and I am armed. I move, quietly to pick up the pike and begin to approach the cave entrance. I would have gone out too, had it not been for the sudden surge of voice, and the hurried footsteps on the unstable earth above.

"Shala?" One of the girls, Vair I think, asks.  
"Vair. Ifri. Yes, it is me." The other girl replies. I recognise the intonation in her voice, district 2.  
"Shala. We have one, down in the cave. He, he killed Argent!" the girl's voice was thick with emotion.  
"We're in the games, he died. It was going to happen." Shala replies, her voice very much lacking emotion.  
"Still he died. That's one less to hunt down the rest." Ifri's voice calls out.  
"We heard two canons. One was Argent's, did you kill the other."

A pause

"No.  It was the girl, from seven. The Hungarian one, she killed the boy, from nine."  
"But where are Maize and Rue?" the other two girls ask, almost simultaneously.  
"They disappeared. They can probably see where this is going. There's only ten people in this arena, and they knew that I was all but ready to narrow that down to eight."

There's a much longer pause now, but for the crackling fire. I slump down against the cave wall again. I can in no way take on three of them, all of them from a career district. But _two_ canons. Peeta must be alive! Unless he's injured.

No, self-doubt will not help. The girl from 7 will help him. But there are only ten of us left, and I'm sure she'd like to leave alive.

"So" I hear the voices resume from outside the cave. "What happened?". It's Ifri speaking, I think anyway.  
"Nine boy ran forward, and the girl killed him in under ten seconds or so. She's one to watch. She also put a knife in Maize's leg, and beat her in hand to hand combat."  
"And the faggot?" I hear Vair ask.  
"What, twelve?" I hear Shala laugh, "he lay on the floor the entire time while the hungarian fought all his battles for him."  
Ifri has butted in at this point. "Don't use that term Vair!"  
"What, faggot? But he is, look at him, and the other from twelve, down there in that cave. They are both clearly bent as a capitol hairstyle. It's a miracle the capitol didn't just kill them when they got here."  
"It's still not a respectful term. Clearly you're scared, otherwise you wouldn't jest at them."  
Shala is still silent, but the conversation between Ifri and Vair has deformed into a full blown argument.

"I'll respect them when they lie dead at my feet!"  
"Vair, you couldn't kill that 12 year old boy at the cornucopia, what makes you think you can take down two people older than you and their Hungarian warrior-ess? "  
"I could too!"  
"Couldn't"

I hear the sound of metal being drawn out of a scabbard. So it is this easy, they'll kill each other.  
The cool voice of Shala stops the argument.  
"Stop it you idiots. I hear something."  
Everything goes quiet, before a whistling sound flows through the air, followed by a scream.

~~~  **Kati** ~~~

"How much further?" Peeta asks.  
"We are close. Wait, shut up!" She whispers, dropping low to the ground.  
We're up in a tree, trying to get our location. But I can hear rustling sounds below us.

Everything is silent for another moment, before in a clearing a few metres from us I see a young girl.  
"The girl from five." I hear Peeta whisper behind me.

She's clearly backing away from something. That's when I see the curvature of a scythe blade reflect the moonlight.  
"Kati wait!" Peeta whispers, as rage floods through me and I begin to move forward.  
"Stay here!" I hiss at him, before quietly traversing the few metres of tree branches to the clearing. I also take the rope dart out.

"What is your name girl?" I hear Maize ask.   
"Audra" the girl stutters back.  
"Well Audra, are you ready to die?"  
The girl screams and I jump of the branch. I roll. I raise the dart and dagger.

I'm too late.

Audra lies dead against the grass, green stained with red.  
"Seven!" I hear Maize yell  cheerfully at me.  
"TWELVE!" I yell, "SHE WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD AND YOU JUST KILLED HER."  
I lunge forward, and the dart flies with me. Maize dodges it.  
"You're how old, sixteen. I'll kill you too. And the boy from three, and the two from twelve and two, and that bitch from one. You'll all die and by my hand."

I'm completely exhausted after trekking all day, but the anger, the sheer rage at this horrific act and reasoning fills me with adrenaline.

"You will pay." I hiss.   
I engage in a series of motions, causing the dart to function as a whip. It slashes at Maize from different angles. Most she dodges but I see her face wince slightly every other few slashes. A cut also is visible on her hand, blood dripping from it.

Pulling the dart back, I use it like a lasso, and circling it above my head before letting it fly outwards. At the last moment, I flick my wrist and the dart wraps around the handle of the scythe.

With a pull it comes free, but the scythe isn't the only the thing which heads my way. Maize has broken into a run, towards me. I wait, and at the last moment, break into a run myself. I vault over her shoulders and turn mid fall, kicking out both legs.

It was a feeble move, but it knocks her forward, and she loses her footing. I barely recover from my fall but as I rise, I bring her scythe with me.

Its weight and balance are strange in my hand, but as Maize prepares to make another run, I twirl the scythe in my hands. This time as Maize approaches me, she produces a knife from her belt. It's all I can do to avoid the strike, but it still connects.

I can feel blood begin to seep from the slash on my side, but feel no pain. I'm still running on pure rage. I slash out with the scythe in a wide arc, and at the last minute, I change direction and using the scythe like a club I hit Maize in the face with it.

She sprawls to the ground. I raise the scythe to deal the final blow, and she kicks out at my leg, knocking me to the ground. Staring up at a twilight sky, I see the face of Maize above. A blade then blocks my view.

Peeta crashes into her. A scuffling sound ensues, and before I know it, Peeta stands above me, holding a blood-soaked knife.

A canon.

"Peeta?" I ask, weakly. All my energy has deserted me.  
He stands in front of the rising moon, holding the knife soaked in blood.

Peeta holds the knife up, before dropping it.

He crashes to his knees and examines the blood on his hands.

"What have I done?" He whispers. "What Have I Done!"  He says. "WHAT HAVE I DONE!" He yells to the sky.  



	10. Armageddon

~~~  **Gale** ~~~

Vair lies before me, an arrow through her throat, shot by the smaller girl from 11. She lies not much further away, also dead.

I stand at the centre of what had been campsite less than an hour before. It's now been reduced to a wreck. The fire has been stomped out, and there are signs of fighting everywhere in sight. There's even a streak of blood against a nearby tree.

I can count three bodies. Vair and Rue are in sight, and the body of the boy from three is down the gorge, having joined the guy from one.

The boy had died first, having stumbled out of the forest, weak from exhaustion. An arrow had followed him, one which killed vair. The boy had then screamed and run, and fallen. I don't know when Rue appeared, but she was speared through the chest.

I've already scavenged what I can, and I lucked upon a bottle of water and some basic food. Having spent the last few days in a cave, it's sensational to feel the cold breeze again.

But the glamour of it had faded pretty quickly. I missed the parade of the dead but using my poor mathematical skills, I determined there must only be five of us left.

"Final five! Congratulations!" I murmur to nobody. I can't stay here long, or the Game-Makers will find some way to push me towards others. My only option is to keep moving.

The cornucopia is just in sight, on a hill above the tree-line. Rather than move towards it, or away from it, I think I'll move parallel to it. The girls from two are more likely to be there, and whoever are left as the other two will be somewhere else.

I set off, heading along the cliff of the gorge. It's barely a mile of travel till I find an area rich with wildlife. Setting a basic snare, I wait in a tree till I hear the tell-tale sound. Scurrying back down I find that I've caught a rabbit. A quick fire and I resume travel, this time with some hot food inside me.

The weather in the arena has changed drastically since this morning. The once crisp blue sky has clouded over with rainclouds.

Thunder rumbles.

The tree I'm sitting by as I take a quick five minutes get's struck by red lightning, and Flames begin to fall from the sky.

~~~  **Haymitch** ~~~

"Armageddon?" I ask.  
"We thought it would be, exciting to say the list." Seneca, head game-maker replies.

I'm standing in the game-makers room. Well, in the adjacent office. I can see, with at least 30 people in the next room, most of them coordinating strikes of fire and meteorites.  
"Isn't that a bit, drastic?"  
"No, I mean, we once put 24 tributes in a desert and for the finale drained all the water."  
"Even from their bottles. I remember, it was the only time one of my tributes made it past the four people mark.  
"Well Mr Abernathy, you certainly have that now. Two in the top five. I dare say you could win this." Seneca says, a distinct amount of snob in his voice. "You could be the first since the fourth games to bring two tributes out of the games."  
"Correction if you do not mind. I **will** be. Now would you mind not directing so many strikes at one of my victors. Don't even send any to my other victor, he's distressed enough as it is."  
"Over the girl? She was good, but with her wounds, she's not going to last much longer."  
  
How can this man not care about someone's life. That girl is sixteen, and she's in there with four others from two districts. The odds are against her but that's no excuse to discount her so readily.

~~~  **Peeta** ~~~

I can see the fire raining down a few miles away. Despite my protests, Kati insisted we continue heading towards the edge. It seems she didn't get out of the fight unscathed, and that Maize had applied poison to her blade.

"You shouldn't be making this trek. You're pale, and exhausted, and at this rate you can't make it." I say.  
"Nem." She says. I take that to mean no.  
"How much further?" I ask. There's no point in repeating the argument we've had ten times already.  
"We are almost there. See?" She points up. Unnatural thunder clouds have begun to form above us. A warning.

Thunder crackles, and Kati stops. Before us lies a valley.  
"The valley, it encircles the arena." I gasp.  
"Yes." Kati rasps back, her voice weak.

A tree nearby get's struck by lightning. Then another.

"They want us to turn back."  
"And so you should." Kati says to me. "Leave me here."  
"What?"  
"Find him Peeta, you can win this. I'm no state to help you."  
"I can't-"  
"Peeta, talalni."  
"What?"  
"GO!" She yells.

I can sense this is another thing she won't let me argue. The ground shakes as the first of the meteor strikes hits the ground. Then another.  
"Go. The next will hit us." she says.  
"But."  
"Peeta. This is my death wish, please go."  
Kati looks to the sky and smiles. A large, fiery asteroid heads towards the two of us.

I can't move her, and I can't stay. So I do as she asks, and take my leave. And I don't look back, even as I hear the crash of the meteor striking the ground.

~~~  **Gale** ~~~

A canon rings through the air. Final Four then.

The portrait appears in the sky. Must be because there are so few of us left.

It's her, the girl from 7.

I  look back down in order to continue moving before I hear the fanfare of trumpets. Looking back up I see, myself. A title reads, "THE FINAL FOUR" and below it are pictures of Ifri, Shala, me and... Peeta.

"Peeta!"

Asteroids have been landing around the arena for the last hour or so, forcing us ever closer to the centre. If that's where they want me, where Peeta could be, then that's where I must go.

It's a short trip, but soon I stand at the base of the cornucopia. It's empty, having been looted days ago. Nobody is around yet, or if they are they're hidden amidst the trees.

"Gale?" I hear a familiar voice.  
"Peeta?" I turn and looking to the forest, I see him emerge.

He's not the same. He looks worn, tired and scared. Relief floods through me as I run towards him. He returns the gesture, breaking into a run. We collide in a mix of arms, and without realising it, we are now both lying in the grass with our lips locked tightly together.

"Ahem?" I hear a female cough.

Peeta and I break away from each other and turn to see the two girls standing there. I raise my pike as I stand up.

"Why didn't you just kill us?" I ask, as Peeta scrambles to his feet.  
"It would be, unsporting. I want you to die but I'm not that much of a monster" Shala replies. Ifri stands behind her. I can see the fear in her eyes as she raises her sword. Shala holds a spear between her hands.

I chance it and dart a look at Peeta. He's armed, but with a bow. I can see two arrows tucked into the back of his trousers.

The ground rumbles beneath us, and the forest surrounding the cornucopia slumps, creating a cliff between us and the rest of the arena. Just to make things worse, the whole of the surrounding forest begins to burn.

"No way out I guess." I say, as I change my stance.

I've killed now, and to do so again will not be easy. But I have a reason to kill now. Even If I don't make it, Peeta is going to get out of here.

Peeta notches an arrow to his bow and raises it. Shala takes no chance, breaking into a sprint towards him, raising the spear. Swinging out with the pike, I make it collide with her legs. She expertley rolls as she recovers from the fall. At that point Peeta has taken the shot.

The shot intended for Shala flies past her, hitting Ifri in the leg. With a yell of primordial rage she dashes towards me and begins a series of slashes, each faster than the next, each one potentially deadly.

It takes all my concentration to parry the blows.  
"Give me the bow and I'll make it quick." I hear.  
"Then have it." I hear Peeta say. Out of the corner of my eye I see the bow fall at Shalas feet.  
Peeta gave in.

Thats when I hear the sound of something flying through air.

Ifri's slashes are still coming fast, but she's tiring faster. Her strokes are lazy, misplaced. Turning this to my advantage I heft my pike against her sword blow. The sword tumbles from her grasp and I push forward with the pike.

I hear her gasp, and then a cannon.

~~~  **Peeta** ~~~

The dart flies through the air and wraps round the spear. The girl's eyes widen. I hear a cannon, as Gale has killed the other.

"Two versus one." I say, pulling on the wire.

Shala pulls back, harder, and I crash to the ground. She raises the spear. "That girl's tricks don't work on me!" She yells and brings the spear crashing down.

Gale's pike catches the spear mid swing and throws it backwards. The girl takes a few steps back.  
"Get away from him."

"You, you killed Ifri!" the girl yells.  
"Yes Shala, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for that, and I'm sorry that it's going to have to be you too."

Gale crashes to the ground beside me, blood pouring from his face.  
"Gale!"  
Shala stands above us both, and raises the spear.  
"Say you're goodbyes boys." she taunts.

Except the wire is still wrapped round her spear, and still in my grasp. With all my energy I pull, and the spear falls from her grasp.

I climb to my feet, and picking up her spear, I face her.

"Now it's my turn. Get away from him." I say, standing so Gale is behind me.

Shala has run out of weapons, and as I lunge forward and around, she dodges. And trips.

"Funnily enough, I fell over that rock, right on the first day." I say, as I stand above her. "I had someone to help me, someone who died in this arena. I'm afraid that without the other careers, no one is going to help you. You're alone now, and it's time to pay for all you've done."

Shala's eyes widen, then close.

Grimacing, I drive the spear forward. A choking gasp. A canon.

Then light floods the arena.

~~~  **Haymitch** ~~~

"Congratulations Mr Abernathy!" Seneca says, clapping me on the back.

I'm in the observation room with the Mentor from two. She throws me a hateful look before storming from the room.  
"A double victory. Gale was injured..." I begin.  
"Taken care of. Our people are already on the scene, extracting the bodies. He will be fine."  
"I'd like to see them."  
"Of course."

I turn to move towards the door, but Seneca's gasp makes me turn again.

The monitors have all activated, as have the signal relays. A message lies on screen, a message broadcast to every person of Panem.

"The Capitol is alone, and it's time to pay for what it's done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is a Slashy Epilouge. The sequel to this fic is available on FanFiction.net - I don't know if I will be continuing it, so currently it's on hiatus. I'm KungThomasDenTrettonde on there too, should you want to read it.


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains slash. Don't like it, Don't read it.

~~~  **Haymitch** ~~~

"Haymitch!"

Gale and Peeta have entered the room.  
"Congratulations Boys."

We're back on the train. Effie is preparing in another cabin, she needs to look good for her victory return I guess.

No one can hear us.  
"Peeta" I say, my voice low. "You have to be careful."  
"What?" he says, looking at me, now with worry etched across his previously happy face.  
"You're final words. After the games, a message was broadcast. From inside the Capitol, a near exact copy of your words."  
"What?"  
"They're scared. They've been challenged, from the inside. The capitol's integrity comes from the career districts who provide wealth, food and weaponry and soldiers. You just challenged that in their eyes, and someone in the Capitol sided with you. They're scared of revolution."  
"But I didn't-"  
"I know. But they suspect you, Gale too, of trying to incite revolution. The first time two tributes have won in 70 years, having slain two of the strongest fighters in the games, who then seem to challenge the Capitol."  
"They weren't." Peeta retorts, "Kati was stronger than them both."

I sigh. "That's the other problem."

~~~  **Gale** ~~~

After Haymitch had finished, we both left. Peeta followed me into my cabin.  
"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."  
"Gale, they want us both, for a statement."  
"The Capitol is as weak as it has ever been. But they've been challenged. I'm not blaming you for that. Hell had I been conscious I would have told them to go and fuck themselves. I'm just scared for you, after what happened with her."  
"Gale, I'll be fine."  
"They could kill us both once we're off this train. 'Tragic Train accident' they could say. I'm not losing you after all this."  
"I'm not going anywhere." Peeta said, closing the gap between our lips.

The kiss is slow at first, but soon develops into something a lot more passionate. Peeta breaks the kiss. I begin to protest but he resumes it nearly immediately, after he locks the door.

It doesn't take long for our Capitol Finest to be taken off. First it's my shirt, and Peeta begins to kiss down my chest. I can feel my body react as he moves further down.  
"You sure?" I ask, panting.  
In answer, Peeta draws down my zip and boxers. My manhood springs out and Peeta wastes no time. First it's his hand, then his mouth.  
"Fuck" I gasp, holding my hands on the back of his head  


I'm not going to last long, and I can feel pressure building. Peeta obviously feels this too as he pulls his head back and pushes me onto the bed.

He shed's his shirt and trousers, before climbing back on and kissing me. I press my mouth against his neck, then move it down to a bruise at his shoulder. He moans, which I take as a sign that I'm doing my job right.

I begin to rub his length, and move to find his entrance. I align little-Gale with it, and hesitantly press against it. I hear Peeta breath out, and the muscles relax. I gently push past them.

"Enjoy it, because this ain't going to last long." I gasp as I begin to move. Peeta groans, more and more, till I feel a warmth spread between our stomachs. I don't last much longer and collapse onto him, our breaths in time.

~~~

"The message sent out."

"Good. They know we aren't afraid any more. The districts will have seen it, and they'll see the Capitol is not invincible."

"You did well. Everyone saw."

"What the message?"

"No. They saw you're escape, that you defied them and escaped. They tried to cover it, but they're pyrotechnics and canons couldn't hide you're breaking out of the arena."

"Did they both win?"

"Yes. Without you Kati, they wouldn't have. Now, it's time to plan phase two."

~~~

_The 74th Hunger Games: Final Scores (Top 10)_

_1st (joint) - Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark (District 12)_  
3nd - Shala Hilt (District 2)  
4th - Ifri Scuffle (District 2)  
5th - Kati Engedj (District 7)  
6th - Rue(District 11)  
7th - Vair Delúxe (District 1)  
8th - District 3 Boy  
9th - Maize (District 11)  
10th - Audra (District 5)


End file.
